Positioning method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

This application provides a positioning method and apparatus. The method includes: obtaining, by a positioning apparatus, information about a transmission environment of each channel in a plurality of channels for a terminal device; determining, by the positioning apparatus, a target channel from the plurality of channels based on the information about the transmission environment of each channel; and locating, by the positioning apparatus, the terminal device based on positioning measurement information of the target channel. The positioning method and apparatus provided in this application helps improve positioning accuracy.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2018/099336, filed on Aug. 8, 2018, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201710685066.2, filed on Aug. 11, 2017.The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the communications field, and moreparticularly, to a positioning method and apparatus in thecommunications field.

BACKGROUND

With continuous development of a mobile communications system, accuratepositioning has become an important part of wireless technologies. Inthe prior art, a terminal device or a network device may sendpositioning measurement information, such as a time of arrival (TOA)and/or a direction of arrival (DOA), of a channel between the terminaldevice and the network device to an enhanced serving mobile locationcenter (E-SMLC), and the E-SMLC locates the terminal device based on thepositioning measurement information of the channel.

However, the accuracy of locating a terminal device in the prior art iscomparatively low.

SUMMARY

This application provides a positioning method and apparatus, to helpimprove positioning accuracy.

According to a first aspect, this application provides a positioningmethod. The method includes:

obtaining, by a positioning apparatus, information about a transmissionenvironment of each channel in a plurality of channels for a terminaldevice;

determining, by the positioning apparatus, a target channel from theplurality of channels based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel; and

locating, by the positioning apparatus, the terminal device based onpositioning measurement information of the target channel.

According to the positioning method provided in this embodiment of thisapplication, the positioning apparatus selects the target channel fromthe plurality of channels based on the obtained information about thetransmission environment of each channel in the plurality of channels,and locates the terminal device based on the positioning measurementinformation of the target channel. This helps improve positioningaccuracy.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of this application,for a network device corresponding to a channel, the terminal device maycommunicate with the network device over the channel.

In one embodiment, any two of the plurality of channels may correspondto a same network device or different network devices. In other words,the plurality of channels may include channels established between theterminal device and different cells of the same network device, or theplurality of channels may include channels established between thedifferent network devices and the terminal device. This is not limitedin this embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may be a functional moduleintegrated into the terminal device or the network device, or thepositioning apparatus may be an apparatus independent of the terminaldevice and the network device. This is not limited in this embodiment ofthis application.

In one embodiment, when the positioning apparatus is an apparatusindependent of the terminal device and the network device, thepositioning apparatus may receive the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel from the terminal device or the networkdevice.

In one embodiment, when the positioning apparatus is a functional moduleintegrated into the terminal device or the network device, thepositioning apparatus may obtain the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel from the terminal device or the networkdevice in which the positioning apparatus is located.

In one embodiment, transmission environments of the plurality ofchannels include line-of-sight (LOS) transmission and non-line-of-sight(NLOS) transmission, and the determining, by the positioning apparatus,a target channel from the plurality of channels based on the informationabout the transmission environment of each channel includes:determining, by the positioning apparatus, a channel in the plurality ofchannels whose transmission environment is LOS as the target channel.

It should be understood that, that a transmission environment is LOS inthis embodiment of this application means that a radio signal can betransmitted between a transmit end and a receive end in a “straightline” without an obstruction. In other words, there is a direct pathbetween the transmit end and the receive end.

It should further be understood that, that a transmission environment isNLOS in this embodiment of this application means that due to anobstruction, some radio signals directly arrive at a receive end, andsome radio signals need to pass along a path of reflection, scattering,diffraction, or the like to arrive at the receive end. In other words,there is the obstruction in a path between a transmit end and thereceive end.

In one embodiment, in an uplink transmission scenario, the transmit endis a terminal device, and the receive end is a network device; in adownlink transmission scenario, the transmit end is a network device,and the receive end is a terminal device. This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, transmission environments of the plurality ofchannels include near LOS and at least one of near NLOS and NLOS, andthe determining, by the positioning apparatus, a target channel from theplurality of channels based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel includes: determining, by the positioningapparatus, a channel in the plurality of channels whose transmissionenvironment is near LOS as the target channel.

It should be understood that a transmission environment of a LOS channelis better than that of a near LOS channel, a transmission environment ofthe near LOS channel is better than that of a near NLOS channel, and atransmission environment of the near NLOS channel is better than that ofan NLOS channel.

According to the positioning method provided in this embodiment of thisapplication, the positioning apparatus uses a channel in the pluralityof channels that has a comparatively good transmission environment asthe target channel, and locates the terminal device based on thepositioning measurement information of the target channel, so thatpositioning accuracy can be improved.

In one embodiment, before the obtaining, by a positioning apparatus,information about a transmission environment of each channel in aplurality of channels for a terminal device, the method furtherincludes: sending, by the positioning apparatus, a first request messageto the terminal device or a network device corresponding to each channelin the plurality of channels, where the first request message is used torequest the information about the transmission environment of eachchannel; and the obtaining, by a positioning apparatus, informationabout a transmission environment of each channel in a plurality ofchannels for a terminal device includes: receiving, by the positioningapparatus, a first feedback message from the terminal device or thenetwork device corresponding to each channel in the plurality ofchannels, where the first feedback message is determined based on thefirst request message, and the first feedback message carries theinformation about the transmission environment of each channel.

In one embodiment, before the locating, by the positioning apparatus,the terminal device based on positioning measurement information of thetarget channel, the method further includes: obtaining, by thepositioning apparatus, positioning measurement information of at leastone channel in the plurality of channels, where the at least one channelincludes the target channel.

In one embodiment, before the obtaining, by the positioning apparatus,positioning measurement information of at least one channel, the methodfurther includes: sending, by the positioning apparatus, a secondrequest message to the terminal device or a network device correspondingto each of the at least one channel, where the second request message isused to request a location of the terminal device; and the obtaining, bythe positioning apparatus, positioning measurement information of atleast one channel in the plurality of channels includes: receiving, bythe positioning apparatus, a second feedback message from the terminaldevice or the network device corresponding to each of the at least onechannel, where the second feedback message is determined based on thesecond request message, and the second feedback message carriespositioning measurement information of each of the at least one channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may first request theinformation about the transmission environment of each channel in theplurality of channels from the network device corresponding to eachchannel in the plurality of channels or the terminal device, select thetarget channel from the plurality of channels based on the informationabout the transmission environment of each channel in the plurality ofchannels, then request the positioning measurement information of thetarget channel from the network device corresponding to the targetchannel or the terminal device, and locate the terminal device based onthe positioning measurement information of the target channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may simultaneously requestthe information about the transmission environment and positioningmeasurement information of each channel in the plurality of channelsfrom the network device corresponding to each channel in the pluralityof channels or the terminal device, select the target channel from theplurality of channels based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel in the plurality of channels, and locate theterminal device based on the positioning measurement information of thetarget channel.

According to the positioning method provided in this embodiment of thisapplication, the positioning apparatus simultaneously requests thepositioning measurement information and the information about thetransmission environment of each channel, or simultaneously feeds backthe positioning measurement information and the information about thetransmission environment of each channel, so that signaling overheadscan be reduced.

In addition, according to the positioning method provided in thisembodiment of this application, the positioning apparatus first requeststhe information about the transmission environment of each channel inthe plurality of channels, selects the target channel from the pluralityof channels based on the information about the transmission environmentof each channel, then requests the positioning measurement informationof the target channel, and locates the terminal device based on thepositioning measurement information of the target channel, so thatsignaling overheads can also be reduced.

According to a second aspect, this application provides a positioningmethod. The method includes:

determining a transmission environment of a channel between a terminaldevice and a network device; and

sending information about the transmission environment of the channel toa positioning apparatus.

In one embodiment, the method may be performed by the terminal device orthe network device. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

According to the positioning method provided in this embodiment of thisapplication, a communications device determines the transmissionenvironment of the channel between the terminal device and the networkdevice, and reports the information about the transmission environmentto the positioning apparatus, so that the positioning apparatus locatesthe terminal device based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of the channel. This helps improve positioning accuracy.

In one embodiment, the determining a transmission environment of achannel between a terminal device and a network device includes:obtaining a difference between a direction of arrival (DOA) of a highfrequency signal and a DOA of a low frequency signal on the channel; anddetermining the transmission environment of the channel based on thedifference.

In one embodiment, the determining the transmission environment of thechannel based on the difference includes: if the difference is less thanor equal to a first preset value, determining that the transmissionenvironment of the channel is LOS; or if the difference is greater thanthe first preset value, determining that the transmission environment ofthe channel is NLOS.

In one embodiment, the determining the transmission environment of thechannel based on the difference includes: if the difference is less thanor equal to a first preset value, determining that the transmissionenvironment of the channel is LOS; if the difference is greater than thefirst preset value and is less than or equal to a second preset value,determining that the transmission environment of the channel is nearLOS, where the second preset value is greater than the first presetvalue; if the difference is greater than the second preset value and isless than or equal to a third preset value, determining that thetransmission environment of the channel is near NLOS, where the thirdpreset value is greater than the second preset value; or if thedifference is greater than the third preset value, determining that thetransmission environment of the channel is NLOS.

In one embodiment, before the sending information about the transmissionenvironment of the channel to a positioning apparatus, the methodfurther includes: receiving a first request message sent by thepositioning apparatus, where the first request message is used torequest the information about the transmission environment of thechannel; the sending information about the transmission environment ofthe channel to a positioning apparatus includes: sending a firstfeedback message to the positioning apparatus based on the first requestmessage, where the first feedback message carries the information aboutthe transmission environment of the channel.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: determining positioningmeasurement information of the channel, where the positioningmeasurement information is used to locate the terminal device; andsending the positioning measurement information to the positioningapparatus.

In one embodiment, before the sending the positioning measurementinformation of the channel to the positioning apparatus, the methodfurther includes: receiving a second request message sent by thepositioning apparatus, where the second request message is used torequest a location of the terminal device; and the sending thepositioning measurement information of the channel to the positioningapparatus includes: sending a second feedback message to the positioningapparatus based on the second request message, where the second feedbackmessage carries the positioning measurement information of the channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning measurement information includes aDOA and/or a time of arrival TOA.

According to a third aspect, this application provides a positioningapparatus, configured to perform the method according to any one of thefirst aspect or the embodiments of the first aspect.

In one embodiment, the apparatus may be integrated into a terminaldevice or a network device, or the apparatus may be independent of theterminal device and the network device. This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

According to a fourth aspect, this application provides a positioningapparatus, configured to perform the method according to any one of thesecond aspect or the embodiments of the second aspect.

According to a fifth aspect, this application provides a positioningapparatus. The positioning apparatus includes a memory, a processor, atransceiver, and a computer program that is stored in the memory andthat can be run on the processor. When executing the computer program,the processor performs the method according to any one of the firstaspect or the embodiments of the first aspect.

In one embodiment, the apparatus may be integrated into a terminaldevice or a network device, or the apparatus may be independent of theterminal device and the network device. This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

According to a sixth aspect, this application provides a positioningapparatus. The positioning apparatus includes a memory, a processor, atransceiver, and a computer program that is stored in the memory andthat can be run on the processor. When executing the computer program,the processor performs the method according to any one of the secondaspect or the embodiments of the second aspect.

In one embodiment, the apparatus may be a terminal device or a networkdevice. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

According to a seventh aspect, this application provides acomputer-readable medium, configured to store a computer program. Thecomputer program includes an instruction used to perform the methodaccording to any one of the first aspect or the embodiments of the firstaspect.

According to an eighth aspect, this application provides acomputer-readable medium, configured to store a computer program. Thecomputer program includes an instruction used to perform the methodaccording to any one of the second aspect or the embodiments of thesecond aspect.

According to a ninth aspect, this application provides a computerprogram product including an instruction. When the computer programproduct is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform themethod according to any one of the first aspect or the embodiments ofthe first aspect.

According to a tenth aspect, this application provides a computerprogram product including an instruction. When the computer programproduct is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform themethod according to any one of the second aspect or embodiments of thesecond aspect.

According to an eleventh aspect, this application provides a chip,including: an input interface, an output interface, at least oneprocessor, and a memory. The input interface, the output interface, theprocessor, and the memory are interconnected by using a bus. Theprocessor is configured to execute code in the memory. When the code isexecuted, the processor is configured to perform the method according toany one of the first aspect or the embodiments of the first aspect.

In one embodiment, the chip may be integrated into a terminal device ora network device, or the chip may be independent of the terminal deviceand the network device. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

According to a twelfth aspect, this application provides a chip,including: an input interface, an output interface, at least oneprocessor, and a memory. The input interface, the output interface, theprocessor, and the memory are interconnected by using a bus. Theprocessor is configured to execute code in the memory. When the code isexecuted, the processor is configured to perform the method according toany one of the second aspect or the embodiments of the second aspect.

In one embodiment, the chip may be integrated into a terminal device ora network device. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a communications system accordingto an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a positioning method according to anembodiment of this application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of another positioning method accordingto an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of still another positioning methodaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a positioning apparatus accordingto an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of another positioning apparatusaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of still another positioningapparatus according to an embodiment of this application; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of yet another positioning apparatusaccording to an embodiment of this application.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes the technical solutions of this application withreference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be understood that, the technical solutions of the embodimentsof this application may be applied to various communications systems,such as: a global system for mobile communications (GSM), a codedivision multiple access (CDMA) system, a wideband code divisionmultiple access (WCDMA) system, a general packet radio service (GPRS)system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency divisionduplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, auniversal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), a worldwideinteroperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communications system, awireless local area network (WLAN) system, or a fifth generation (5G)wireless communications system.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a communications system 100according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1, thecommunications system 100 may include a plurality of network devices110, at least one terminal device 120, and a positioning apparatus 130.

In one embodiment, the network device 110 may provide communicationcoverage for a specific geographical area and may communicate with UEwithin the coverage area. The network device 110 may be a basetransceiver station (BTS) in a GSM system or a CDMA system, or may be aNodeB (NB) in a WCDMA system, or may be an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB)in an LTE system, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network(CRAN). The network device 110 may alternatively be a core network, arelay node, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearabledevice, a network side device in a 5G network, a network device in afuture evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), or the like.

In one embodiment, the terminal device 120 may be mobile or fixed. Theterminal device 120 may be an access terminal, user equipment (UE), asubscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remotestation, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, aterminal, a wireless communications device, a user agent, a userapparatus, or the like. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, acordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wirelesslocal loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handhelddevice having a wireless communication function, a computing device,another processing device connected to a wireless modem, avehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5Gnetwork, a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN, or the like.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus 130 may be a functionalmodule integrated into the network device 110 or the terminal device120, or the positioning apparatus 130 may be an apparatus, for example,an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC), independent of thenetwork device 110 and the terminal device 120. This is not limited inthis embodiment of this application.

FIG. 1 illustratively shows two network devices 110 and one terminaldevice 120. In one embodiment, the communications system 100 mayalternatively include another quantity of network devices 110, anotherquantity of terminal devices 120 may be included within a coverage areaof each network device 110, and each terminal device 120 may communicatewith at least one network device 110 over a plurality of channels. Thisis not limited in this embodiment of this application. In oneembodiment, the communications system 100 may further include anothernetwork entity such as a network controller or a mobility managemententity. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, any two of the plurality of channels may correspondto a same network device or different network devices. In other words,the plurality of channels may include channels established between theterminal device 120 and different cells of the same network device, orthe plurality of channels may include channels established between thedifferent network devices and the terminal device 120. This is notlimited in this embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, it may be understood that, in this embodiment of thisapplication, for a network device corresponding to a channel, theterminal device communicates with the network device over the channel.This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

In the prior art, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120communicate with each other over a channel established by using an airinterface, and the positioning apparatus 130 communicates with thenetwork device 110 or the terminal device 120 over a network.

In one embodiment, because a location of the network device 110 deployedin the communications system 100 is known, the positioning apparatus 130may obtain positioning measurement information of a channel from thenetwork device 110 or the terminal device 120, and locates the terminaldevice 120 based on the positioning measurement information, where thechannel is used for communication between the network device 110 and theterminal device 120.

In this embodiment of this application, the positioning measurementinformation of the channel may include a time of arrival (TOA) and/or adirection of arrival (DOA) of an uplink signal received by the networkdevice 110 from the terminal device 120 over the channel; or thepositioning measurement information of the channel may include a TOAand/or a DOA of a downlink signal received by the terminal device 120from the network device 110 over the channel. This is not limited inthis embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, the positioning measurement information in thisembodiment of this application may further include other informationused to locate the terminal device 120. This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

However, according to the positioning method in the prior art, ondifferent channels for the terminal device 120, a transmissionenvironment for a signal is unknown, that is, the transmissionenvironment for the signal on some channels is good, and thetransmission environment for the signal on some channels is poor.Therefore, accuracy varies when the positioning apparatus 130 locatesthe terminal device 120 by using different channels.

According to a positioning method provided in an embodiment of thisapplication, a positioning apparatus obtains information about atransmission environment of each channel in a plurality of channels fora terminal device, selects a target channel from the plurality ofchannels based on the information about the transmission environment ofeach channel, and locates the terminal device based on positioningmeasurement information of the target channel. This helps improvepositioning accuracy.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a positioning method 200 according toan embodiment of this application. The method 200 may be applied to thecommunications system 100 shown in FIG. 1 and performed by thepositioning apparatus in the communications system 100. This is notlimited in this embodiment of this application.

S210. The positioning apparatus obtains information about a transmissionenvironment of each channel in a plurality of channels for a terminaldevice.

In one embodiment, any two of the plurality of channels may correspondto a same network device or different network devices. In other words,the plurality of channels may include channels established between theterminal device and different cells of the same network device, or theplurality of channels may include channels established between thedifferent network devices and the terminal device. This is not limitedin this embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, it may be understood that, in this embodiment of thisapplication, for a network device corresponding to a channel, theterminal device communicates with the network device over the channel.This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may be a functional moduleintegrated into the terminal device or the network device, or thepositioning apparatus may be an apparatus independent of the terminaldevice and the network device. This is not limited in this embodiment ofthis application.

In one embodiment, when the positioning apparatus may be an apparatusindependent of the terminal device and the network device, thepositioning apparatus may receive the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel in the plurality of channels from theterminal device or a network device corresponding to each channel in theplurality of channels.

In one embodiment, when the positioning apparatus may be a functionalmodule integrated into the terminal device or the network device, thepositioning apparatus may obtain the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel from the terminal device or a network devicecorresponding to each channel in the plurality of channels.

In this embodiment of this application, information about a transmissionenvironment of a channel may include one bit or two bits, used toindicate the transmission environment of the channel. This is notlimited in this embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, when the information about the transmissionenvironment includes one bit, the one bit may be used to indicatewhether the transmission environment is line-of-sight (LOS) transmissionor non-line-of-sight (NLOS) transmission.

It should be understood that, that a transmission environment is LOS inthis embodiment of this application means that a radio signal can betransmitted between a transmit end and a receive end in a “straightline” without an obstruction. In other words, there is a direct pathbetween the transmit end and the receive end.

It should further be understood that, that a transmission environment isNLOS in this embodiment of this application means that due to anobstruction, some radio signals directly arrive at a receive end, andsome radio signals need to pass along a path of reflection, scattering,diffraction, or the like to arrive at the receive end. In other words,there is the obstruction in a path between a transmit end and thereceive end.

In one embodiment, in an uplink transmission scenario, the transmit endis a terminal device, and the receive end is a network device; in adownlink transmission scenario, the transmit end is a network device,and the receive end is a terminal device. This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

For example, when the one bit included in the information about thetransmission environment of the channel is 1, the transmissionenvironment of the channel is LOS; when the one bit included in theinformation about the transmission environment of the channel is 0, thetransmission environment of the channel is NLOS.

It should be understood that, that the information about thetransmission environment is 1 may be understood as that a probabilitythat the transmission environment of the channel is LOS is greater thana first preset value; and that the information about the transmissionenvironment is 0 may be understood as that the probability that thetransmission environment of the channel is LOS is less than or equal tothe first preset value.

In other words, a transmission environment of a LOS channel is betterthan that of an NLOS channel.

It should further be understood that, in this embodiment of thisapplication, the foregoing indication manner is merely used as anexample for description. In this embodiment of this application, theinformation about the transmission environment may alternativelyindicate, in another manner, the transmission environment of the channelby using one bit. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

In one embodiment, when the information about the transmissionenvironment includes two bits, the two bits may be used to indicatewhether the transmission environment is LOS, near LOS, near NLOS, orNLOS.

For example, when the two bits included in the information about thetransmission environment of the channel are 00, the transmissionenvironment of the channel is NLOS; when the two bits included in theinformation about the transmission environment of the channel are 01,the transmission environment of the channel is near NLOS; when the twobits included in the information about the transmission environment ofthe channel are 10, the transmission environment of the channel is nearLOS; when the two bits included in the information about thetransmission environment of the channel are 11, the transmissionenvironment of the channel is LOS.

It should be understood that, that the information about thetransmission environment is 00 may be understood as that a probabilitythat the transmission environment of the channel is LOS is less than orequal to a first preset value; that the information about thetransmission environment is 01 may be understood as that the probabilitythat the transmission environment of the channel is LOS is greater thanthe first preset value and is less than or equal to a second presetvalue; that the information about the transmission environment is 10 maybe understood as that the probability that the transmission environmentof the channel is LOS is greater than the second preset value and isless than or equal to a third preset value; and that the informationabout the transmission environment is 11 may be understood as that theprobability that the transmission environment of the channel is LOS isgreater than the third preset value. The first preset value is less thanthe second preset value, and the second preset value is less than thethird preset value.

In other words, a transmission environment of a LOS channel is betterthan that of a near LOS channel, a transmission environment of the nearLOS channel is better than that of a near NLOS channel, and atransmission environment of the near NLOS channel is better than that ofan NLOS channel.

It should further be understood that, in this embodiment of thisapplication, the foregoing indication manner is merely used as anexample for description. In this embodiment of this application, theinformation about the transmission environment may alternativelyindicate, in another manner, the transmission environment of the channelby using two bits. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

S220. The positioning apparatus determines a target channel from theplurality of channels based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may determine a channel inthe plurality of channels that has a comparatively good transmissionenvironment as the target channel based on the information about thetransmission environment of each channel.

In one embodiment, when a plurality of transmission environments of theplurality of channels include LOS and NLOS, the positioning apparatusmay determine a channel in the plurality of channels whose transmissionenvironment is LOS as the target channel.

In one embodiment, when a plurality of transmission environments of theplurality of channels include LOS and at least one of near LOS, nearNLOS, and NLOS, the positioning apparatus may determine a channel in theplurality of channels whose transmission environment is LOS as thetarget channel.

In one embodiment, when a plurality of transmission environments of theplurality of channels include near LOS and at least one of near NLOS andNLOS, the positioning apparatus may determine a channel in the pluralityof channels whose transmission environment is near LOS as the targetchannel.

It should be understood that, if there is no channel whose transmissionenvironment is LOS or near LOS among the plurality of channels, thepositioning apparatus may use a channel whose transmission environmentis near NLOS as the target channel; if there is even no channel whosetransmission environment is near NLOS, the positioning apparatus has nochoice but to select a channel whose transmission environment is NLOS.In this case, a positioning result may have an error. However, if thepositioning apparatus can learn a transmission environment of the targetchannel, the positioning apparatus learns a rough accuracy range of thepositioning result when locating the terminal device.

S230. The positioning apparatus locates the terminal device based onpositioning measurement information of the target channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning measurement information may includeat least one of a TOA and a DOA, or may further include otherinformation used to locate the terminal device. This is not limited inthis embodiment of this application.

According to the positioning method 200 provided in this embodiment ofthis application, the positioning apparatus selects, from the pluralityof channels based on the obtained information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel in the plurality of channels, a channelhaving a comparatively good transmission environment as the targetchannel, and locates the terminal device based on the positioningmeasurement information of the target channel. This helps improvepositioning accuracy.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may obtain the informationabout the transmission environment of each channel in the plurality ofchannels in a plurality of manners. This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may send one first requestmessage to the terminal device or all network devices corresponding tothe plurality of channels, where the first request message is used torequest information about the transmission environments of the pluralityof channels; or the positioning apparatus may separately send one firstrequest message to the terminal device or each network devicecorresponding to the plurality of channels, where the first requestmessage is used to request the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel. This is not limited in this embodiment ofthis application.

In one embodiment, before S230, the method 200 further includes:obtaining, by the positioning apparatus, positioning measurementinformation of at least one channel in the plurality of channels, wherethe at least one channel includes the target channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may obtain positioningmeasurement information of each channel in the plurality of channels, orobtain only the positioning measurement information of the targetchannel. There may be one or more target channels. This is not limitedin this embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may send one second requestmessage to the terminal device or all network devices corresponding tothe at least one channel, or the positioning apparatus may separatelysend one second request message to the terminal device or each networkdevice corresponding to the at least one channel. This is not limited inthis embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, for a same channel, the first request message used torequest information about a transmission environment of the channel andthe second request message used to request positioning measurementinformation of the channel may be a same request message or differentrequest messages. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication. When the first request message and the second requestmessage are different, a sequence of sending the two request messages isnot limited in this embodiment of this application. Similarly, asequence of receiving two feedback messages is not limited either inthis embodiment of this application.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may first request theinformation about the transmission environment of each channel in theplurality of channels from the network device corresponding to eachchannel in the plurality of channels or the terminal device, select thetarget channel from the plurality of channels based on the informationabout the transmission environment of each channel in the plurality ofchannels, then request the positioning measurement information of thetarget channel from the network device corresponding to the targetchannel or the terminal device, and locate the terminal device based onthe positioning measurement information of the target channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may simultaneously requestthe information about the transmission environment and the positioningmeasurement information of each channel in the plurality of channelsfrom the network device corresponding to each channel in the pluralityof channels or the terminal device, select the target channel from theplurality of channels based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel in the plurality of channels, and locate theterminal device based on the positioning measurement information of thetarget channel.

According to the positioning method 200 provided in this embodiment ofthis application, the positioning apparatus requests the positioningmeasurement information and the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel in the plurality of channels by using onerequest message, or obtains the positioning measurement information andthe information about the transmission environment of each channel byusing one feedback message, so that signaling overheads can be reduced.

In addition, according to the positioning method 200 provided in thisembodiment of this application, the positioning apparatus first requeststhe information about the transmission environment of each channel inthe plurality of channels by using one request message, and selects thetarget channel from the plurality of channels based on the obtainedinformation about the transmission environment of each channel in theplurality of channels, then requests the positioning measurementinformation of the target channel by using another request message, andlocates the terminal device based on the obtained positioningmeasurement information of the target channel, so that signalingoverheads can also be reduced.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may send, to the terminaldevice or the network device corresponding to each channel depending onwhether the terminal device or the network device corresponding to eachchannel in the plurality of channels has a capability of locating theterminal device, indication information used to instruct to or not toreport the transmission environment of each channel, and the terminaldevice or the network device corresponding to each channel determines,based on the indication information, whether to report the informationabout the transmission environment of each channel.

In one embodiment, when the terminal device or the network devicecorresponding to each channel in the plurality of channels has thecapability of locating the terminal device, the positioning apparatusmay send a request message to the terminal device or the network devicecorresponding to each channel, where the request message is used torequest reporting of a location of the terminal device, and the requestmessage carries indication information used to instruct not to reportthe information about the transmission environment of each channel;correspondingly, the terminal device or the network device correspondingto each channel receives the request message from the positioningapparatus, locates the terminal device based on the request message, andsends a feedback message to the positioning apparatus, where thefeedback message carries information about the location of the terminaldevice.

In one embodiment, when the terminal device or the network devicecorresponding to each channel in the plurality of channels does not havethe capability of locating the terminal device, the positioningapparatus may send a request message to the terminal device or thenetwork device corresponding to each channel, where the request messageis used to request reporting of a location of the terminal device, andthe request message carries indication information used to instruct toreport the information about the transmission environment of eachchannel; correspondingly, the terminal device or the network devicecorresponding to each channel receives the request message from thepositioning apparatus, and sends a feedback message to the positioningapparatus based on the request message, where the feedback messagecarries the positioning measurement information and the informationabout the transmission environment of each channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning apparatus may instruct, by using onebit in the request message, the terminal device or the network devicecorresponding to each channel to or not to report the information aboutthe transmission environment of each channel.

For example, when the one bit is 1, it indicates that the informationabout the transmission environment is to be reported; when the one bitis 0, it indicates that the information about the transmissionenvironment is not to be reported.

In this embodiment of this application, a message may be transmittedbetween the positioning apparatus and the terminal device, for example,by using the LTE positioning protocol (LPP), and a message may betransmitted between the positioning apparatus and the network device,for example, by using the LTE positioning protocol annex (LPPa). This isnot limited in this embodiment of this application.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a positioning method 300 according toan embodiment of this application. The method 300 may be applied to thecommunications system 100 shown in FIG. 1 and performed by a networkdevice or a terminal device that performs communication over a samechannel in the communications system 100. This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

S310. Determine a transmission environment of a channel between aterminal device and a network device.

In one embodiment, the determining a transmission environment of achannel may be determining a difference between a direction of arrivalDOA of a high frequency signal and a DOA of a low frequency signal onthe channel; and determining information about the transmissionenvironment of the channel based on the difference.

In one embodiment, if the difference is less than or equal to a firstpreset value, the transmission environment of the channel is LOS; or ifthe difference is greater than the first preset value, the transmissionenvironment of the channel is NLOS.

In one embodiment, if the difference is less than or equal to a firstpreset value, the transmission environment of the channel is LOS; if thedifference is greater than the first preset value and is less than orequal to a second preset value, the transmission environment of thechannel is near LOS, where the second preset value is greater than thefirst preset value; if the difference is greater than the second presetvalue and is less than or equal to a third preset value, thetransmission environment of the channel is near NLOS, where the thirdpreset value is greater than the second preset value; or if thedifference is greater than the third preset value, the transmissionenvironment of the channel is NLOS.

S320. Send the information about the transmission environment of thechannel to a positioning apparatus.

In one embodiment, the method 300 further includes: sending positioningmeasurement information of the channel to the positioning apparatus,where the positioning measurement information is used to locate theterminal device.

In one embodiment, the positioning measurement information may include aDOA and/or a time of arrival TOA, or other information used to locatethe terminal device. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

In one embodiment, a method for reporting the positioning measurementinformation and the information about the transmission environment ofthe channel corresponds to the method for receiving positioningmeasurement information and information about a transmission environmentof a channel by the positioning apparatus in FIG. 2. To avoidrepetition, details are not described herein again.

In one embodiment, the information about the transmission environmentmay include one bit or two bits, used to indicate the transmissionenvironment of the channel. A specific indication manner is similar tothe indication manner in FIG. 2. To avoid repetition, details are notdescribed herein again.

According to the positioning method 300 provided in this embodiment ofthis application, the transmission environment of the channel betweenthe terminal device and the network device is determined, and theinformation used to indicate the transmission environment is reported tothe positioning apparatus, so that the positioning apparatus locates theterminal device based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of the channel. This helps improve positioning accuracy.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a positioning method 400 according toan embodiment of this application. The method 400 may be applied to thecommunications system 100 shown in FIG. 1. For example, a terminaldevice communicates with a first network device over a first channel andcommunicates with a second network device over a second channel, andnone of the terminal device, the first network device, and the secondnetwork device has a capability of locating the terminal device.

In one embodiment, a message may be transmitted between a positioningapparatus and the terminal device, for example, by using the LPPprotocol, and a message may be transmitted between the positioningapparatus and the network device (first network device or second networkdevice), for example, by using the LPPa protocol. This is not limited inthis embodiment of this application.

S401. The positioning apparatus sends a first request message to thefirst network device, where the first request message is used to requesta location of the terminal device, the first request message carriesfirst indication information, and the first indication information isused to instruct to report information about a transmission environmentof the first channel. Correspondingly, the first network device receivesthe first request message from the positioning apparatus.

S402. The first network device determines the transmission environmentof the first channel based on the first request message.

S403. The first network device sends a first feedback message to thepositioning apparatus, where the first feedback message carries theinformation about the transmission environment of the first channel andpositioning measurement information of the first channel.Correspondingly, the positioning apparatus receives the first feedbackmessage from the first network device.

S404. The positioning apparatus sends a second request message to thesecond network device, where the second request message is used torequest the location of the terminal device, the second request messagecarries second indication information, and the second indicationinformation is used to instruct to report information about atransmission environment of the second channel. Correspondingly, thesecond network device receives the second request message from thepositioning apparatus.

S405. The second network device determines the transmission environmentof the second channel based on the second request message.

S406. The second network device sends a second feedback message to thepositioning apparatus, where the second feedback message carries theinformation about the transmission environment of the second channel andpositioning measurement information of the second channel.Correspondingly, the positioning apparatus receives the second feedbackmessage from the second network device.

In one embodiment, S401 to S403 are a method for reporting thepositioning measurement information of the first channel and theinformation about the transmission environment of the first channel bythe first network device, and S404 to S406 are a method for reportingthe positioning measurement information of the second channel and theinformation about the transmission environment of the second channel bythe second network device. Therefore, a sequence of performing S401 toS403 and S404 to S406 is not limited.

S407. The positioning apparatus determines a target channel based on thetransmission environment of the first channel and the transmissionenvironment of the second channel.

In one embodiment, a method for determining the target channel by thepositioning apparatus is similar to the method described in FIG. 2. Toavoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

S408. The positioning apparatus locates the terminal device based onpositioning measurement information of the target channel.

The foregoing describes in detail the positioning method provided in theembodiments of this application with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4. Thefollowing describes the positioning apparatus provided in theembodiments of this application with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 8.

FIG. 5 shows a positioning apparatus 500 according to an embodiment ofthis application. The apparatus 500 includes:

an obtaining unit 510, configured to obtain information about atransmission environment of each channel in a plurality of channels fora terminal apparatus;

a determining unit 520, configured to determine a target channel fromthe plurality of channels based on the information that is about thetransmission environment of each channel and that is obtained by theobtaining unit 510; and

a positioning unit 530, configured to locate the terminal apparatusbased on positioning measurement information of the target channeldetermined by the determining unit 520.

In one embodiment, transmission environments of the plurality ofchannels include line-of-sight (LOS) transmission and non-line-of-sight(NLOS) transmission, and the determining unit 520 is configured todetermine a channel in the plurality of channels whose transmissionenvironment is LOS as the target channel.

In one embodiment, transmission environments of the plurality ofchannels include near LOS and at least one of near NLOS and NLOS, andthe determining unit 520 is configured to determine a channel in theplurality of channels whose transmission environment is near LOS as thetarget channel.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 500 further includes a first sendingunit. The first sending unit is configured to: before the obtaininginformation about a transmission environment of each channel in aplurality of channels for a terminal device, send a first requestmessage to the terminal device or a network device corresponding to eachchannel in the plurality of channels, where the first request message isused to request the information about the transmission environment ofeach channel; and the obtaining unit 510 is configured to receive afirst feedback message from the terminal device or the network devicecorresponding to each channel in the plurality of channels, where thefirst feedback message is determined based on the first request message,and the first feedback message carries the information about thetransmission environment of each channel.

In one embodiment, the obtaining unit 510 is further configured to:before the locating the terminal device based on positioning measurementinformation of the target channel, obtain positioning measurementinformation of at least one channel in the plurality of channels, wherethe at least one channel includes the target channel.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 120 further includes a second sendingunit. The second sending unit is configured to: before the obtainingpositioning measurement information of at least one channel, send asecond request message to the terminal device or a network devicecorresponding to each of the at least one channel, where the secondrequest message is used to request a location of the terminal device;the obtaining unit 510 is configured to receive a second feedbackmessage from the terminal device or the network device corresponding toeach of the at least one channel, where the second feedback message isdetermined based on the second request message, and the second feedbackmessage carries positioning measurement information of each of the atleast one channel.

It should be understood that the apparatus 500 herein is embodied in aform of a functional unit. The term “unit” herein may be anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, aprocessor (for example, a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or agroup processor) and a memory for executing one or more software orfirmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or anotherappropriate component that supports the described function. In oneembodiment, a person skilled in the art may understand that theapparatus 500 may be the positioning apparatus in the embodiments of themethod 200 and method 300, and the apparatus 500 may be configured toperform procedures and/or operations corresponding to the positioningapparatus in the embodiments of the method 200 and method 300. To avoidrepetition, details are not described herein.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 500 may be integrated into the networkdevice or the terminal device in the embodiments of the method 200 andmethod 300, or the apparatus 500 may be independent of the networkdevice and the terminal device in the embodiments of the method 200 andmethod 300. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

FIG. 6 shows a positioning apparatus 600 according to an embodiment ofthis application. The apparatus 600 includes:

a determining unit 610, configured to determine a transmissionenvironment of a channel between a terminal apparatus and a networkapparatus; and

a sending unit 620, configured to send information about thetransmission environment that is of the channel and that is determinedby the determining unit 610 to a positioning apparatus.

In one embodiment, the determining unit 610 is configured to: obtain adifference between a direction of arrival DOA of a high frequency signaland a DOA of a low frequency signal on the channel; and determine thetransmission environment of the channel based on the difference.

In one embodiment, the determining unit 610 is configured to: if thedifference is less than or equal to a first preset value, determine thatthe transmission environment of the channel is LOS; or if the differenceis greater than the first preset value, determine that the transmissionenvironment of the channel is NLOS.

In one embodiment, the determining unit 610 is configured to: if thedifference is less than or equal to a first preset value, determine thatthe transmission environment of the channel is LOS; if the difference isgreater than the first preset value and is less than or equal to asecond preset value, determine that the transmission environment of thechannel is near LOS, where the second preset value is greater than thefirst preset value; if the difference is greater than the second presetvalue and is less than or equal to a third preset value, determine thatthe transmission environment of the channel is near NLOS, where thethird preset value is greater than the second preset value; or if thedifference is greater than the third preset value, determine that thetransmission environment of the channel is NLOS.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 600 further includes a first receivingunit. The first receiving unit is configured to: before the sendinginformation about the transmission environment of the channel to apositioning apparatus, receive a first request message sent by thepositioning apparatus, where the first request message is used torequest the information about the transmission environment of thechannel; and the sending unit 620 is configured to send a first feedbackmessage to the positioning apparatus based on the first request message,where the first feedback message carries the information about thetransmission environment of the channel.

In one embodiment, the determining unit 610 is further configured todetermine positioning measurement information of the channel, where thepositioning measurement information is used to locate the terminaldevice; and the sending unit 620 is further configured to send thepositioning measurement information to the positioning apparatus.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 600 further includes a second receivingunit. The second receiving unit is configured to: before the sending thepositioning measurement information of the channel to the positioningapparatus, receive a second request message sent by the positioningapparatus, where the second request message is used to request alocation of the terminal device; and the sending unit 620 is configuredto send a second feedback message to the positioning apparatus based onthe second request message, where the second feedback message carriesthe positioning measurement information of the channel.

In one embodiment, the positioning measurement information includes aDOA and/or a time of arrival TOA.

It should be understood that the apparatus 600 herein is embodied in aform of a functional unit. Herein the term “unit” may be an ASIC, anelectronic circuit, a processor (for example, a shared processor, adedicated processor, or a group processor) and a memory for executingone or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logiccircuit, and/or another appropriate component that supports thedescribed function. In one embodiment, a person skilled in the art mayunderstand that the apparatus 600 may be the terminal device or thenetwork device in the embodiments of the method 200 and method 300, andthe apparatus 600 may be configured to perform procedures and/oroperations corresponding to the terminal device or the network device inthe embodiments of the method 200 and method 300. To avoid repetition,details are not described herein again.

FIG. 7 shows a positioning apparatus 700 according to an embodiment ofthis application. The apparatus 700 may be the positioning apparatus 130in the communications system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The positioningapparatus 130 may use a hardware architecture shown in FIG. 7. Thepositioning apparatus 130 may include a processor 710, a transceiver720, and a memory 730. The processor 710, the transceiver 720, and thememory 730 communicate with each other over an internal connection path.Related functions implemented by the determining unit 520 and thepositioning unit 530 in FIG. 5 may be implemented by the processor 710,and related functions implemented by the obtaining unit 510 may beimplemented by the transceiver 720.

The processor 710 may include one or more processors, for example,include one or more central processing units (CPU). When the processor710 is one CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

The transceiver 720 is configured to send data and/or a signal, andreceive data and/or a signal. The transceiver 720 may include atransmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is configured to send dataand/or a signal, and the receiver is configured to receive data and/or asignal.

The memory 730 includes but is not limited to a random access memory(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM), and a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM). The memory730 is configured to store a related instruction and data.

The memory 730 is configured to store program code and data of a networkdevice, and may be a separate device or integrated into the processor710.

In one embodiment, the processor 710 is configured to control thetransceiver 720 to obtain information about a transmission environmentof each channel in a plurality of channels, determine a target channelfrom the plurality of channels based on the information about thetransmission environment of each channel, and locate the terminal devicebased on positioning measurement information of the target channel. Forexample, S210 to S230 are performed. For details, refer to thedescription in the method embodiments, and details are not describedherein again.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 700 may be integrated into the networkdevice or the terminal device, or may be independent of the terminaldevice or the network device. This is not limited in this embodiment ofthis application.

It can be understood that FIG. 7 shows only a simplified embodiment ofthe positioning apparatus 130. In actual application, the positioningapparatus 130 may further include another component, including but notlimited to any quantity of transceivers, processors, controllers,memories, or the like, and all positioning apparatuses that canimplement this application shall fall within the protection scope ofthis application.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 700 may be a chip, and the chip, forexample, may be a communications chip that can be applied to thepositioning apparatus, and is configured to implement a related functionof the processor 710 in the positioning apparatus. The chip may be afield programmable gate array, a dedicated integrated chip, a systemchip, a central processing unit, a network processor, a digital signalprocessing circuit, or a microcontroller for implementing a relatedfunction, or may be a programmable controller or another integratedchip. In one embodiment, the chip may include one or more memories,configured to store program code. When the code is executed, the chip isenabled to implement a corresponding function.

In one embodiment, the chip may be integrated into the network device orthe terminal device, or may be independent of the network device and theterminal device. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

FIG. 8 shows a positioning apparatus 800 according to an embodiment ofthis application. The apparatus 800 may be the terminal device 120 orthe network device 110 in the communications system 100 shown in FIG. 1.The terminal device 120 or the network device 110 may use a hardwarearchitecture shown in FIG. 8. The terminal device 120 or the networkdevice 110 may include a processor 810, a transceiver 820, and a memory830. The processor 810, the transceiver 820, and the memory 830communicate with each other over an internal connection path. A relatedfunction implemented by the determining unit 610 in FIG. 6 may beimplemented by the processor 810, and a related function implemented bythe sending unit 620 may be implemented by the transmitter 820.

The processor 810 may include one or more processors, for example,include one or more central processing units CPUs. When the processor isone CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

The transceiver 820 is configured to send data and/or a signal, andreceive data and/or a signal. The transceiver 820 may include atransmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is configured to send dataand/or a signal, and the receiver is configured to receive data and/or asignal.

The memory 830 includes but is not limited to a RAM, a ROM, an EPROM,and a CD-ROM. The memory 830 is configured to store a relatedinstruction and data.

The memory 830 is configured to store program code and data of theterminal device, and may be a separate device or integrated into theprocessor 810.

In one embodiment, the processor 810 is configured to determine atransmission environment of a channel between the terminal device 120and the network device 110, and control the transceiver 820 to sendinformation about the transmission environment of the channel to apositioning apparatus. For example, S310 to S320 are performed. Fordetails, refer to the description in the method embodiments, and detailsare not described herein again.

It may be understood that FIG. 8 shows only a simplified embodiment ofthe network device 110 or the terminal device 120. In actualapplication, the terminal device 120 or the network device 110 mayfurther include another component, including but not limited to anyquantity of transceivers, processors, controllers, memories, or thelike, and all network devices or terminal devices that can implementthis application shall fall within the protection scope of thisapplication.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 800 may be a chip, for example, may bea communications chip that can be applied to the network device 110 orthe terminal device 120, and is configured to implement a relatedfunction of the processor 810 in the network device 110 or the terminaldevice 120. The chip may be a field programmable gate array, a dedicatedintegrated chip, a system chip, a central processing unit, a networkprocessor, a digital signal processing circuit, or a microcontroller forimplementing a related function, or may be a programmable controller oranother integrated chip. In one embodiment, the chip may include one ormore memories, configured to store program code. When the code isexecuted, the chip is enabled to implement a corresponding function.

All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by usingsoftware, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented by using software, all or some of the embodiments may beimplemented in a form of a computer program product. The computerprogram product includes one or more computer instructions. When thecomputer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer,all or some of the procedures or functions according to the embodimentsof the application are generated. The computer may be a general-purposecomputer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or anotherprogrammable apparatus. The computer instruction may be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium, or may be transmitted by using thecomputer-readable storage medium. The computer instructions may betransmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to anotherwebsite, computer, server, or data center in a wired (for example, acoaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a digital subscriber line (DSL)) orwireless (for example, infrared, radio, or microwave) manner. Thecomputer-readable storage medium may be any usable medium accessible bya computer, or a data storage device, such as a server or a data center,integrating one or more usable media. The usable medium may be amagnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetictape), an optical medium (for example, a digital versatile disc (DVD), asemiconductor medium (for example, a solid-state drive (SSD)), or thelike.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combinationwith the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in thisspecification, units and algorithm operations may be implemented byelectronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronichardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or softwaredepends on particular applications and design constraint conditions ofthe technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use differentmethods to implement the described functions for each particularapplication, but it should not be considered that the implementationgoes beyond the scope of this application.

It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, forthe purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed workingprocess of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to acorresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and detailsare not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should beunderstood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may beimplemented in another manner. For example, the described apparatusembodiment is merely an example. For example, the unit division ismerely logical function division and may be another division in actualimplementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may becombined or integrated into another system, or some features may beignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutualcouplings or direct couplings or communication connections may beimplemented by using some interfaces. The indirect couplings orcommunication connections between the apparatuses or units may beimplemented in an electrical, mechanical, or another form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units,may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality ofnetwork units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on anactual requirement to achieve the objectives of the solutions of theembodiments.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of this application maybe integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may existalone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

When the functions are implemented in the form of a software functionalunit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may bestored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such anunderstanding, the technical solutions of this application essentially,or the part contributing to the prior art, or some of the technicalsolutions may be implemented in a form of a software product. Thesoftware product is stored in a storage medium, and includes severalinstructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personalcomputer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or some of theoperations of the methods described in the embodiments of thisapplication. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that canstore program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, aread-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk,or an optical disc.

The foregoing descriptions are merely implementations of thisapplication, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of thisapplication. Any variation or replacement readily figured out by aperson skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in thisapplication shall fall within the protection scope of this application.Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject tothe protection scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A positioning method comprising: obtaining, by apositioning apparatus, information about a transmission environment ofeach channel in a plurality of channels for a terminal device, whereinobtaining, by the positioning apparatus, information about thetransmission environment of each channel in the plurality of channelsfor the terminal device includes: sending, by the positioning apparatus,a first request message to the terminal device or a network devicecorresponding to each channel in the plurality of channels, wherein thefirst request message is used to request the information about thetransmission environment of each channel, and receiving, by thepositioning apparatus, a first feedback message from the terminal deviceor the network device corresponding to each channel in the plurality ofchannels, wherein the first feedback message carries the informationabout the transmission environment of each channel, wherein thetransmission environments of the plurality of channels compriseline-of-sight (LOS) transmission, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) transmission,near LOS, and near NLOS, wherein determining the transmissionenvironment includes: obtaining a difference between a direction ofarrival (DOA) of a high frequency signal and a DOA of a low frequencysignal on the channel; and determining the transmission environment ofthe channel based on the difference includes upon determining thedifference is less than or equal to a first preset value, determine thetransmission environment of the channel is line of sight (LOS), upondetermining the difference is greater than the first preset value and isless than or equal to a second preset value, determine the transmissionenvironment of the channel is near LOS, wherein the second preset valueis greater than the first preset value; determining, by the positioningapparatus, a target channel from the plurality of channels based on theinformation about the transmission environment of each channel; andlocating, by the positioning apparatus, the terminal device based onpositioning measurement information of the target channel.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the determining, by the positioningapparatus, a target channel from the plurality of channels based on theinformation about the transmission environment of each channelcomprises: determining, by the positioning apparatus, a channel in theplurality of channels whose transmission environment is LOS as thetarget channel.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein thedetermining, by the positioning apparatus, a target channel from theplurality of channels based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel comprises: determining, by the positioningapparatus, a channel in the plurality of channels whose transmissionenvironment is near LOS as the target channel.
 4. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein before the locating, by the positioning apparatus,the terminal device based on positioning measurement information of thetarget channel, the method further comprises: obtaining, by thepositioning apparatus, positioning measurement information of at leastone channel in the plurality of channels, wherein the at least onechannel comprises the target channel.
 5. The method according to claim4, wherein before the obtaining, by the positioning apparatus,positioning measurement information of at least one channel, the methodfurther comprises: sending, by the positioning apparatus, a secondrequest message to the terminal device or a network device correspondingto each of the at least one channel, wherein the second request messageis used to request a location of the terminal device; and the obtaining,by the positioning apparatus, positioning measurement information of atleast one channel in the plurality of channels comprises: receiving, bythe positioning apparatus, a second feedback message from the terminaldevice or the network device corresponding to each of the at least onechannel, wherein the second feedback message carries positioningmeasurement information of each of the at least one channel.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein determining the transmissionenvironment includes: upon determining the difference is greater thanthe second preset value and is less than or equal to a third presetvalue, determining the transmission environment of the channel is nearNLOS, wherein the third preset value is greater than the second presetvalue; or upon determining the difference is greater than the thirdpreset value, determining the transmission environment of the channel isNLOS.
 7. A positioning apparatus comprising: a processor configured todetermine a transmission environment of a channel between a terminaldevice and a network device; and a transceiver configured to sendinformation about the transmission environment that is of the channeland that is determined by the processor of the positioning apparatus,wherein the positioning apparatus obtains information about thetransmission environment of each channel in a plurality of channels forthe terminal device by: sending, by the transceiver of the positioningapparatus, a first request message to the terminal device or the networkdevice corresponding to each channel in the plurality of channels,wherein the first request message is used to request the informationabout the transmission environment of each channel, and receiving, bytransceiver of the positioning apparatus, a first feedback message fromthe terminal device or the network device corresponding to each channelin the plurality of channels, wherein the first feedback message carriesthe information about the transmission environment of each channel, andwherein, the processor determines a target channel from the plurality ofchannels based on the information about the transmission environment ofeach channel and a location of the terminal device based on positioningmeasurement information of the target channel; wherein transmissionenvironments of the plurality of channels comprise line-of-sight (LOS)transmission, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) transmission, near LOS, and nearNLOS, and wherein the processor is further configured to: obtain adifference between a direction of arrival (DOA) of a high frequencysignal and a DOA of a low frequency signal on the channel; and determinethe transmission environment of the channel based on the difference,and, when the difference is less than or equal to a first preset value,determine the transmission environment of the channel is LOS, when thedifference is greater than the first preset value and is less than orequal to a second preset value, determine the transmission environmentof the channel is near LOS, wherein the second preset value is greaterthan the first preset value.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7,wherein the processor is configured to: when the difference is greaterthan the second preset value and is less than or equal to a third presetvalue, determine the transmission environment of the channel is nearNLOS, wherein the third preset value is greater than the second presetvalue; or when the difference is greater than the third preset value,determine the transmission environment of the channel is NLOS.
 9. Theapparatus according to claim 7, wherein, before the locating, by thepositioning apparatus, the terminal device based on positioningmeasurement information of the target channel, the positioning apparatusobtains positioning measurement information of at least one channel inthe plurality of channels, wherein the at least one channel comprisesthe target channel.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, whereinbefore the obtaining, by the positioning apparatus, positioningmeasurement information of at least one channel, the positioningapparatus: sends, by the transceiver of the positioning apparatus, asecond request message to the terminal device or a network devicecorresponding to each of the at least one channel, wherein the secondrequest message is used to request a location of the terminal device;and obtains positioning measurement information of at least one channelin the plurality of channels by: receiving, by the transceiver of thepositioning apparatus, a second feedback message from the terminaldevice or the network device corresponding to each of the at least onechannel, wherein the second feedback message carries positioningmeasurement information of each of the at least one channel.
 11. Theapparatus according to claim 7, wherein, the determining, by thepositioning apparatus, a target channel from the plurality of channelsbased on the information about the transmission environment of eachchannel comprises: determining, by the positioning apparatus, a channelin the plurality of channels whose transmission environment is LOS asthe target channel.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, thedetermining, by the positioning apparatus, a target channel from theplurality of channels based on the information about the transmissionenvironment of each channel comprises: determining, by the positioningapparatus, a channel in the plurality of channels whose transmissionenvironment is near LOS as the target channel.